Elon University

Topic: Community/Culture

Are Hacker Break-ins Ethical?

Many hackers argue that they follow an ethic that both guides their behavior and justifies their break-ins. This hacker ethic states, in part, that all information should be free. This view holds that information belongs to everyone and there should be no boundaries or restraints … If all information were to be freely available and modifiable, imagine how much damage and chaos would be caused in our real world! Our whole society is based on information whose accuracy must be assured. This includes information held by banks and other financial institutions, credit bureaus, medical agencies and professionals, government agencies such as the IRS, law enforcement agencies, and educational institutions. Clearly, treating all their information as “free” would be unethical in any world where there might be careless and unethical individuals.

Sex & the Superhighway

The superhighway – or hypeway, as one skeptic calls it – is supposed to knit our computer, television and telephones into networks that will allows us to work, shop and run errands in ‘virtual communities’ without ever leaving our armchairs. All this activity is expected to generate a mind-boggling $3.5 trillion global-communications industry by the end of the century, according to no less an expert than John Sculley, the former CEO of Apple Computer. He might add that it could be rocky getting there: He himself left Apple for a job that didn’t pan out.

The Cultural Consequences of the Information Superhighway

New information technologies can easily be turned to malign ends. Through advertising and other means, they have been used not only to exploit our hearts’ desires but to manufacture new ones. Along with the specter of greater government control over citizens’ lives that becomes possible with the new information technologies, this ‘commodification of desire’ must be considered one of the darker prospects of the NII … With the NII, it seems likely that the machines will grow stronger, as will marketers and governments.

Magna Carta for the Knowledge Age

Cyberspace will play an important role in knitting together the diverse communities of tomorrow, facilitating the creation of electronic neighborhoods bound together not by geography but by shared interests. Socially, putting advanced computing in the hands of entire populations will alleviate pressure on highways, reduce air pollution, allow people to live further away from crowded or dangerous urban areas, and expand family time.

The History of the Future

The network eliminates the need for big organizations. Individuals can get on, create information and sell it without the need for any company to support them. This totally changes the options for retired people and those who hate working for someone else. This has a major impact on the structure of the information industry, including newspapers, etc.

The History of the Future

The network makes it possible to have complex relationships with individuals and groups of people all over the globe. The workplace and even the home may not be the focal point of oneÕs social interactions. Virtual corporations will come into existence on a regular basis. None of these changes will be trouble-free.

The National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action.

People could live almost anywhere they wanted, without foregoing opportunities for useful and fulfilling employment, by ÔtelecommutingÕ to their offices through an electronic highway. The best schools, teachers, and courses would be available to all students, without regard to geography, distance, resources, or disability. Services that improve AmericaÕs health care system and respond to other important social needs could be available on-line, without waiting in line, when and where you need them.

Chapter 17: Digital Fables and Foibles

The persona of a machine makes it fun, relaxing, usable, friendly, and less “mechanical” in spirit. Breaking in a new personal computer will become more like house-training a puppy. You will be able to purchase personality modules that include behavior and style of living of fictitious characters. You will be able to buy a Larry King personality for your newspaper interface. Kids might wish to surf the Net with Dr. Seuss … We will see systems with humor, systems that nudge and prod, even ones that are as stern and disciplinarian as a Bavarian nanny.